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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Today is release day for Carver's Fall. It's a mystery/romance set in north Alabama in 1925. Here's the buy link if you're interested.

This story is near to my heart as I named the main characters after my paternal great grandparents. Carver Fowler and Mallie Phillips lived in north Alabama and raised their family there. They had several children who served in WWII, with one serving as a nurse near the front lines and one who died at the Battle of the Bulge after saving many of his men's lives.

My great grandmother always had a coconut cake on her dining room table and to this day, I wish I'd gotten that recipe before she died. My great grandfather was a master wood worker and a pipe smoker. I always think of him when I smell pipe tobacco.

In the 1880s Jesse James robbed the federal paymaster in my great grandparents' hometown. Recently, my dad and I were talking about this fact and the next thing I knew, I had a story in my head that I had to get down. Carver's Fall became that story- a bit of a tribute to my greats and also the Model T that Carver Fowler loved and thought no other car could compare to. He really didn't ever want to drive
again once that car broke down forever.

Blurb:
In 1924, Carver Fowler, a young man raised on his family’s farm in North Alabama, has long been in love with one of the girls who lives in town. Her name is Mallie Phillips. Mallie has always treated Carver as beneath her notice since in her opinion he’s nothing but a country yokel. The county’s fall festival is soon and, as a joke, Mallie is dared by a friend to ask Carver to be her date to the party. Mallie takes her up on the dare and visits Carver to invite him to accompany her to the festivities. In the midst of all the intrigue about whether Carver will be her date or not, a young man is killed and another is attacked. Carver becomes a suspect and Mallie begins to understand that Carver may not merely be the backwoods boy she thought he was.

Monday, January 21, 2013

The
universe amazes Kelly O’Day by gifting her with hot Viking warrior
Ingvar Hrothson in my paranormal fantasy romance, Wytchfae Runes.
Language is not a barrier for the culturally diverse couple. Kelly’s
fae blood gives her the ability to decipher what he’s saying, and
Ingvar’s comprehension skills have grown during his years of
wandering. Sometimes it’s handy to be a ghost. Imagine Kelly’s
surprise, however, to learn that many common English words originated
in ancient Norway. Here are just a few:

Steak
- After plying her Viking with Irish whiskey and Chocklot Puffs,
Kelly later relents and cooks him a steak—rare of course.

Bag
- Kelly’s small magical bag given to her by the Swamp Wytch is
larger inside than out. That’s lucky when emissaries from other
dimensions present her with unwieldy tools such as a bow and quiver
and snakeskin cloak.

Berserk
- During his life as a Viking warrior, Ingvar knew the feeling of
being a berserker in battle and using fearless enraged instinct to
defeat his enemies.

Anger
- Ingvar’s flaring anger at the witch who cursed him to walk the
earth as a ghost often goads him into reckless action. Kelly soothes
his warrior’s spirit so that he can handle situations with more
deliberation.

Knife
- The knife that Ingvar slips Kelly for protection belongs to one of
the thugs who tried to murder them in their sleep. If the couple ever
gets out of the mess they’re in, Ingvar wants to buy her a dagger
with a jeweled hilt. He’d like to see it strapped to her thigh.

Hell
- In the domain of the beautiful Helle, Kelly and Ingvar are served
tea by Clark Gable’s double. No amenity is out of reach for the
Goddess of the Underworld.

Read
more about the commonality of English and Norse at
http://mylittlenorway.com/2009/01/how-vikings-shaped-the-english-language/

Wytchfae
Runes

Book
Trailer:http://bit.ly/WthYLc

Blurb:
Combine one faery witch and one sexy Viking ghost and what do you
get? Supernova attraction. Can they evade their enemies long enough
to fan the flame?

Opening
Line:
In a star’s blink, a claw like hand gripped Ingvar’s throat and
crushed him against the wall.

One
Line Teaser:
Kelly had seen Ingvar transform from insubstantial apparition to hot
red blooded male.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

We're no longer in the holiday season but when I wrote the title above, I thought immediately about the Frosty the Snowman television show where every time the kids put the magic hat back on him he says, "Happy birthday"- sorry to say but that line in that show annoys me to no end. Even as a kid it grated on my nerves. What about you? Is there a favorite show that you can't watch because of some minor annoyance?

All of the above is apropos of nothing but in a stream of consciousness post,I couldn't resist telling y'all that. And speaking of snowmen and streams of consciousness, that reminds me, it's 78 degrees here in northwest Florida. Who forgot to tell Mom Nature that it's January?

Ahh, happy January. Two years ago, Secret Cravings Publishing opened and has been providing great reads since then to the population. The really cool thing is that it has also gained a stellar reputation during that time. They treat their writers with great respect and I love being one of those lucky devils who get to write for them. I haven't been here since the beginning but I joined the team in February, 2012 - I was giving them time to work out the kinks. Bwhaahaha.

Seriously, I wish the best of anniversaries and birthdays to this wonderful publishing house owned and staffed by some amazing folks. I hope the readers all enjoy the stories already on offer and will keep coming back for more. Have a nibble on a cupcake and enjoy the celebration!

If you need some reading material, check out one of my lil ole stories below:

Friday, January 11, 2013

Thank you to all who participated in the SCP Second Anniversary Blog Event.
We had over 40 entries and hundreds of welcomed guests to our blogs
The winners were chosen randomly by computer system at Random Results and the winners are:

Grand Prize Winner of iPad2-michelle
First Place Winner of Kindle Fire-lisa
Second Place Winner of $50 SCP Gift Certificate-kay
Third Place Winner of $25 SCP Gift Certificate-kristin

Each author has a port and destination... visit each blog and find out which location every author has chosen. Record and email your findings to reviewcoordinator@secretcravingspublishing.com by Monday, January 7 and winners' names will be randomly drawn. *Official announcement of grand prize winners will be announced by Friday, January 11, 2013

Is SCP author Jan Graham in Haiti?
Or perhaps SCP author Karen Cino is visiting Tokyo?
One never knows.

Click on the links below to follow the authors as they travel around the world.